A recent Law 360 story by PJ D’Annunzio, “3rd Circ. Affirms Atty Fee Award in Trucking Co. ERISA Case”, reports that lawyers for a trucking company's former fleet manager, who claimed he was fired for taking time off to undergo hip surgery, will get to keep their $112,000 fee award, the Third Circuit ruled in a precedential opinion, holding that the award was reasonable. In affirming plaintiff Thomas Kairys' attorney-fee award, the three-judge panel also upheld his award of $67,000 in front pay in his suit against Southern Pines Trucking Inc.
In its opinion authored by U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, the panel rejected Southern Pines' argument that Kairys' fee award was too high, given that a defense verdict was reached on all but one of his claims in a western Pennsylvania district court. After the trial, Kairys proposed a 10% reduction while Southern Pines wanted a 40% reduction.
The panel noted that, while Kairys struck out on a "substantial portion" of the case, the district court "found that 'much of the evidence presented did overlap between the successful and unsuccessful claims' because all claims had a 'common core of facts' and were 'based on related legal theories' of discrimination and pretext." That overlap warranted a fee reduction of 25%, in the district court's estimation. The appellate panel agreed. "[Southern Pines] offers no reason why a 25 percent reduction did not reflect Kairys's losses before the jury, and we find none," the Third Circuit said. "The district court did not abuse its discretion."